Mattress and similar structure



C. H. DURFEY ET AL MATTRESS AND SIMILAR S'IRUCI'UREV Filed Jan. 25, 1934 wa# i Y Mabl 7l4 fifs ATTORNEYS AMAS Jan. l, `1935.

Patented `an. 1v, 1935 f -MATTREss-AND :siMILAR STRUCTURE Ciaudeliarold Durfey,; ;Mount Vernon, Archibald W. Naylonlrooklym; Joseph N. Bauer, Astoria,

This .inventionrelates to, mattressesand cushions of the typewhichomprises .an innerspring unit `made up .of.vertical coil springsienclosed individually in pockets, outer sheetsof fabricatzthe 5 top and-bottom ofthe.unit,..and sidetstripscommorily knownas iboxing Aconnectedto. theputer sheets. 'More .particularlyg; the. .invention is concernedl with a novel mattress ,or likestructurei :of the typereferred to, which is so comtr-uctedthat the boxing is normally heldtautbyfthe springs, this use of the springs to maintain-theboxing taut addingl tothe life ofthe mattress to a con sid erable` extent, ,and also greatlyx "'imp'rovingql the appearance V-of vthe mattress, since theboxing is heldstraightand Vertical. D i Mattresses and similar structures-.containing an inner spring unit have been in use fon-some timeI -and offennumerous ad Vantages 'over .other types, but it has been difficult heretoforetdzmake Such mattresses. with .az-boxing w-hchlies straight and at ae-ainsi, thefsidesofithe. sprinennitand doesvnot ,bulge {Ihis ,problemjhasbeen :partir/111 larlwiflicultioffsolutioninimettressesioi.substanf tial; depthnd numerous -expedients .have-.been I Jroimsex; fOr-1 the purpose-@. So- Atareaswe are aware', these proposed. onstructonsether have noteiven the desired; results-.Orche they-haver@- qured difult., and.: laborious; y; ;Ina1 1c1 Generations adding substantially to the cost;Of-,p reduction,l so that their c0111@ be ilsedonlyvmthe ,moreexpensive Structures.

:" Ihe presentz vii1'relation is directed :to-theepro ni011 fr en -that; tQfWhCh. the stherrspringsfof fthe unit are; Subietecl and z theforcent,theseouter sprinsss then,transmittedhysuitabl meenam the ,top. am., bottom, portions f0f; the.,boxins through bh entire, lengua fofate latter. 'fi-,rather than. at ,spelled ROMS The dutersprings corsequently maintamvthe boxing' taut underrun; normal cenditiosand the hQxinather-efore.. cannot bulgeorrhaneloosei' i V While the lprinc inlesscyiithe invention rmayibe embodied in mattresses Cushions., andyuarious other A similar .structuresgan embodimentpf the inventionfinthe form oiga; mattress ,wilkhe describedor purposes aofi explanationgalthoughrit springs of theunit-under increasedcompression is to be .understoodthat the utility of the invention is not connedto this particular structure.

The new mattress includes an inner spring unit1of any standard type, top and bottom sheets ofticking, and ,aboxng strip forthe sides of. the 5 unit,'this stripbeing connected to the top, and bottom sheetsby stitching. Between eachsheet andthe unitis a layerof lling material, such as batting or other suitable material, and the stuffing ismade with an increased thickness along l0 the end andvside edges of the unit sothatin the completed structure, the extra vs tumngmaterial is pressed.k downward against the springs in the rows along the edges of the unit and places these springsunder a' somewhat greater compression 15 thanthat to which, the springs of the vother, rows are, subjected. `These, morel vfully ,compressed springs are used tokeep the boxing taut and yarouSA means .may be employed for transmittingl the force of thesprings to theboxng. vWe prefer, however,.to femp1oy for this purpose, sheets gof fabric which lierin directcontact. with theftop andgbottomiof theunit under the stuffing, these sheets being connected totheboxing at vasl'iort distancein ward irom a its ,topl and bottom edges. Preferably, we use stripsof fabric formaking'the connection, each stripbeing stitched to'theboxngpalong its median line and havingoneree edgesecured .to the, sheet of fabric. The vother edgeofeachstrip may then be tied tothe stufling at; suitable interyals, the -ties serving to ,keep the extrathickness of rstuiling ,material in proper vpositiontoperform itsfunction, Y l

,With the arrangement; described, the outer 35 actthroughthe-innersheets `ofxjabric and the connectionstrips to draw the boxingtaut under normal conditions. The stretching force of the springs istransmitted to the` opposite edgesfofj theboxing `throughout the length `of 1 the latter rathergthanat spaced points and the yboxing cannotbulge.y Eorgalbetter understanding of the invention, reference may be made to theaccompanying drawing, in which Figurelcisalpartial sectional View through a mattress. constructed in accordance with our `invention, thefpartsbeing shown separated to-make the construction clear;

4 ligure 2 isza View similarto Figure 1 but -in dicatingpthexparts inptheir 4assembled relation;

and

Figure 3A is a partialside View .oi the, new. mattress.

The mner .sprine unit employed in- .the new,

This unit includes vertical helical springs 11 arranged in rows and between the rows are strips 12 of fabric which are stitched together between the ,springs to form pockets enclosingthe -individual springs, the edges of the two strips of fabric for each row being brought over the tops and` bottoms of the springs of the row and secured to- -brous lling material 24, such as batting, and

gether so that the pockets are completely closed. The springs in the rows other than the rows along the edges ofthe unit are held together to forma" compact unit by any suitable means, such as wires, not shown. y

Layers 13 and 14 of stuihng material, such as batting, or the like, are placed at the top andV bottom of the inner spring unit and covered with top and bottom covering sheets 15, and a boxing 16 is connected to the edges of the covering sheets to lie along the vertical sides of the unit. VIn order that the boxing may be held taut and kept from bulging, the outer springs of the unit are placed under compression greater than that to which the -other springs are subjected and the expansive :torce of these outer springs is transmitted to the boxing. f

'Various means maybe employed for producing the additional compression in the outer. springs, but we prefer to secure this eiect by providing an additional thickness 17 of stufng material at the top and bottom of the outer springs, either by laying an additional narrow strip ofY stufling along the top and bottom edges of the unit, or by folding the edges of the stuiing layers back upon themselves, as illustrated. With either arrangement, the additional thickness of material is forced against the outer springs by the covering sheets in such manner as to give them the required additional compression. By varying` the thickness of the stuing material over the outer springs, the compression in these springs, and hence the 'tension transmitted to the boxing 16, can be varied, as desired. 1

Various means may be employed for transmitting the'expansive force of the outer springs to the boxing and, in the mattress illustrated, we employ sheets of fabric 18 and 19 which liein direct contact with the top and bottom,-respec tively, of the spring unit and are connected to the boxing by fabric connection strips 20. The connection strips are secured to the boxing inward from the edges thereof in any suitable manner and preferably by stitching which passes through the middle of each strip and the boxing. One of the free edgesiof each strip is then connected to one of the sheets 18, 19, and the other free edge of the strip may be secured to the layers of stufng. material 13, 14. For this purpose, ties 21 are used, and these ties pass through .the strip'an'dv through the stuing material along the edges of` the latter at short intervals, the ties thus serving to'hold the additional thickness of stuffing material against displacement; By the use of the fabric sheets 18, 19, `and the connecting strips 20, the expansivevforceof the outer springs in the unit is transmitted to the boxing along the opposite edges .thereof and acts to pull the boxing taut, and this effect is obtained without employing any connection, such as ties, between the springsand thelboxing. Connecting the boxing to the` springs by such ties must be carried on by hand and,`therefore, adds substantially to the cost of manufacture. With the present construction, thef connection ofthe sheets 18, 19, to the strips 2'0 and the connection of the strips to the boxing can all be done by machine rapidly and at low cost and, while the ties 21 connecting the'strip to the stufng are made by hand, these operations are relatively simple since the parts lto be connected are in completely accessible` position atAthe time the operations are carried on.'

The boxing employed consists of inner and outer strips of ticking 22, 23, between which lies the twol strips are secured together by suitable lines of stitching 25 which pass through the brous .material and prevent it from shifting.

YThe stitching may have different forms and in the boxingfshown, it outlines a series of generally oval shaped figures so that the stitching both secures the parts `of the boxing together and produces a decorative effect.

In the completed mattress, the top and bottom covering sheets 15 are brought down over thefedgessof the stuing'material and sewed to the loutersheet of the boxing along the edges thereof,.theseam thus formed being finished off in any suitable manner, as by means of tapes 26. v The coveringr sheets hold the stuing layers tightly against the top and bottom of the spring unit and the additional thicknesses of stuffing material at the top and'bottom of the springs 27 in the outside rows alongthe side and end edges of the unit causes these springs to be subjected to a compression somewhat greater than that towhich the other springs of the unit are. subjected.v .These outer springs then act through the sheets 18, 19,k and the connection strips 20 to'maintain the boxing taut. In the completedmattress, the top and bottom covering sheets may be connected by the usual tufting 28, if desired.

The new mattress has the desired straight vertical `sides produced by taut boxing and this eifect is obtained at' relatively low cost since many hand operations in the manufacture are eliminated. Also, since the boxing is maintained taut by forces transmitted to the boxing through the connection strips 20 rather than at spaced points, the tautness of the boxing is uniform throughout the length of the boxing. What we"claim is; y

1. A mattress or like structure which comprises an inner-spring unit including a plurality of springs under compression, top and bottom covering sheets for saidy unit, boxing alongvthe sidesof said unit, stuinng layers atV` the top and bottom of the unit and covered by said covering sheets, the stuffing having increased thickness along itsedges to place the springs at the edges of the unit under greater compression than the remaining springs offthe unit, and means lying at the top and bottom ofthe unit and connected to the boxing for maintaining the boxing taut,l

Xsaid means being placed under tensionY bythe increased'thickness of the stuffing along its edges.

\ 2. `A .m'attress or `like structure which comprises an Y innersprjng unit including a plurality of springs under compression, top and bottom covering sheets forsaid unit, boxing along the sides of said unit, stuing layers at the topand bottom oftheunit and covered by said covering sheets, the stung having increased thickness along its edges to place the springs `along the edges of the unitunder greater compression than the remaining springs of the unit, and sheets' at the top and bottom of .saidll unit andv connected to said boxing -tommaintainfit taut, said sheets being sheets for.- said unit, boxing along the sidesof placed under tension by the increased thickness of said stuing along its edges.

3. A mattress or like structure which comprises an inner spring unit including a plurality of springs under compression, top and bottom covering sheets for said unit, boxing along the sides of said unit and independent thereof, stuffing layers at the top and bottom of said unit coV- v ered by said covering sheets, tensioning means at the top and bottom of said unit and connected to the boxing throughout the sides of said unit for maintaining said boxing taut, and means for placing the springs along the edges of the unit under greater compression than that on the remaining springs of the unit and placing said means connected to the box under tension, said tensioning means drawing the boxing taut between the connections between said means and said boxing. l

4. A mattress or like structure which comprises an` inner spring unit including a plurality of springs under compression, top and bottom covering sheets for said unit, boxing along the sides of said unit and independent thereof, stufing layers at the top and bottom of the unit covered by said covering sheets, tensioning sheets at the top and bottom of said unit and connected to said boxing for maintaining it taut, and means for placing the springs along the edges of the unit under greater compression than the other springs of said unit and placing said tensioning sheets under tension, said tensioning sheets drawing the boxing taut between the connections of said sheets thereto.

5. A mattress or like structure which comprises an inner spring unit including a plurality of springs under compression, top and bottom the unit, stuing layers at the top and bottom of the unit covered by said covering sheets, tensioning sheets for said boxing at the top and bottom of the unit and beneath said stufling layers, strips connected to said tensioning sheets and to the boxing unit inward from the levels of the ends of the springs along the edges of the unit,

yand means for placing the springs along the edges of the unit under greater compression than the remaining springs of the unit and maintainingr said tensioning sheets and strips under tension, said tensioning sheets and strips drawing on the boxing to maintain it taut.

6. A mattress or like structure which comprises an inner spring unit including a plurality of springs under compression and arrangedin rows, top and bottom covering sheets for said unit, boxing along the sides of the unit connected to said covering sheets, stuing layers at the top andl bottom lof the unit beneath said covering sheets, tensioning sheets at the top and bottom of said unit connected to the boxing, strips connected to saidtensioning sheets and to the stufng layers, said strips Ialso being connected to the boxing inward from the ends of the springs along the edges of the unit, and means for subjecting the springs in the rows along the edges of the unit to greater compression than the remaining springs of said unit, said means placing the tensioning sheets and strips under tension whereby said strips and sheets maintain the boxing taut.

CLAUDE HAROLD DURFEY. ARCHIBALD W. NAYLOR. JOSEPH N. BAUER.

ROGER B. STEVENS. 

